The main sightseeing tour takes visitors to the Church High Baroque Convent, a former residential building for Plasy’s monks. A presentation of the monastery’s historical development is accompanied by information on the special design of the building’s foundations and the water and air systems.
Together with the church, the monks’ residence formed the heart of the monastery complex and was a part of the enclosure. Throughout its history the convent has undergone several reconstructions. The last major rebuilding took place in the Baroque period, when the older convent completely made way for a new building which has survived to the present day. Its architect was Jan Blažej Santini Aichel. He had the building constructed upon foundations of 5,100 oak piles, which have been solidifying the local marshy ground ever since.
During the tour, we pass through a cloister hallway decorated with Baroque frescoes by the painters Jakub Antonín Pink, František Antonín Müller and Josef Kramolín. We will also see artwork by the painter Kryštof Liška or the sculptor Matyáš Bernard Braun. We will take you to the meditation chapel of St. Bernard, the Capitular Hall, and visit the hospital wing with a display of pharmacies and unique Baroque toilets that are flushed by the Střela River. We will also view the library hall, the abbot’s study, the former reading room and the winter refectory. The commentary includes information on the sophisticated technical design of the foundations of the convent building, which was built "on water". Throughout the tour, you will be able to admire Santini's breath taking architecture, such as the self-supporting spiral staircases as well as a range of ubiquitous details.
The sightseeing tour is led by a guide and presentation is usually in Czech. However, you can borrow texts with information in German, English, French, Dutch or Russian. Guided tours in foreign languages (EN, GE) can be arranged after prior order.